ExxonMobil plans hydrogen production and CCS facility at Baytown complex

ExxonMobil said on Monday it is planning one of the world’s largest carbon capture and storage projects at its integrated refining and petrochemical site at Baytown, Texas, along with a hydrogen production plant.

The proposed hydrogen facility would produce up to 1 billion cubic feet per day of “blue” hydrogen, and the carbon capture infrastructure for the project would have the capacity to transport and store up to 10 million metric tons of CO2 per year – more than doubling ExxonMobil’s current capacity, the company said.

Using hydrogen as a fuel at the Baytown olefins plant could reduce the integrated complex’s Scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions by up to 30 percent, supporting ExxonMobil’s ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions from its operated assets by 2050, the company said.

“Hydrogen has the potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in vital sectors of the economy and create valuable, lower-emissions products that support modern life,” Joe Blommaert, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, said in a statement. “By helping to activate new markets for hydrogen and carbon capture and storage, this project can play an important part in achieving America’s lower-emissions aspirations,” he said.

The plant would also enable the site to manufacture lower-emissions products for its customers, and access to surplus hydrogen and CO2 storage capacity would be made available to nearby industry, the company said.